Edward Timothy Silva, a second-grade student, told DailyExpertNews on Thursday what it was like to be at Robb Elementary School at the time of the mass shooting that killed 19 children and two adults.
Edward Timothy’s class was near the fourth grade classroom when he heard “loud noises,” he said. “A bit like fireworks.”
A woman who works for the school told them to hide, he said, while the lights were out in the classroom.
“I learned that we had a real practice. Because we practiced a lot. I think we were safe because we practiced,” said Edward Timothy.
He started learning such exercises in kindergarten, he said. Some of his classmates in the room were crying, Edward Timothy said.
“I was praying and thought, ‘Why is this happening?'” said the second-grader.
Later, his class and others “walked out of their classrooms,” he said. Officials have said all the deaths and injuries at Robb Elementary occurred in one classroom.
When asked what he’s afraid of now, Edward Timothy said, “I’m afraid of guns now because I’m afraid someone would shoot me.”
His mother, Amberlynn Diaz, burst into tears and said this was the first time she had heard her son say that.
“It breaks my heart,” Diaz said. “He asked me, does he have to go to school next year? And I just don’t want him to be afraid of school. I want him to keep learning and not be afraid to go back to school. I want him to have a normal life again.”